I am taking my pavement princess (23 Black Diamond) to OBX later this month and I want to go to the beach in Corolla that you can drive on the beach. Never been off road and I’m terrified of getting stuck. Please tell me everything I need to know and do thank you!
I'm hoping someone with HVAC or gas utility experience can help me understand this because I'm completely stumped.
I live in an apartment where natural gas is only used for:
Stove
Gas fireplace (never used)
Furnace (this happened in May/June, so the heat wasn't running)
Our gas bill has consistently been around $50-$60/month.
Then, out of nowhere, our usage increased by about 130 therms, and our bill jumped to around $200.
We knew something wasn't right, so we contacted our gas utility multiple times. Even the customer service representatives commented that the usage seemed unusually high and the history of our place has never been that high.
After several weeks (and multiple "virtual" inspections instead of in-person visits), they finally sent a technician. The technician found what I believe was a gas regulator that apartment maintenance needed to repair.
Maintenance repaired it.
Immediately afterward, our gas usage returned to normal, and our projected bill dropped back to where it had always been.
Here's where I'm confused...
The gas utility is telling us:
The meter is accurate.
The regulator had nothing to do with the increased gas usage.
They cannot explain what caused the spike.
They agree the meter is recording correctly, but they have no explanation for where the extra gas went.
Another detail that may or may not be relevant:
About a month before all of this started, my apartment complex performed "preventative maintenance" in the utility closet on our balcony (where the gas equipment is located). They locked the closet afterward and told us tenants were never supposed to have access to it. Shortly after that maintenance is when we noticed the spike in gas usage.
I'm not trying to blame anyone—I'm just trying to understand if there's a technical explanation.
My questions are:
Can a faulty gas regulator ever indirectly cause higher gas consumption?
Is there any failure that could cause a meter to register roughly 130 extra therms over two months without an obvious gas leak?
Could work performed in the utility closet have affected something that would increase gas usage?
Does it make sense that our usage returned to normal immediately after the regulator was repaired if the regulator truly had nothing to do with it?
I'm not looking for legal advice—just trying to understand whether there's a plausible mechanical explanation that the utility company may be overlooking. Thanks in advance.
I'm honestly at a loss and hoping someone has experienced something similar because neither my apartment complex nor Washington Gas can give us an answer.
For context, we live in an apartment where gas is only used for:
-Our stove
-A gas fireplace (which we have NEVER turned on)
-Heat (which wasn't being used because this happened during May and June)
Our gas bill has always been around $50-60/month.
Then all of a sudden our usage increased by about 130 therms, and our bill jumped to around $200.
Even every Washington Gas customer service representative we spoke with commented on how unusual and high our usage was and saw the history of our place and said it has never been that high.
Here's the timeline:
We called Washington Gas and asked them to send someone out because the increase made no sense.
They said they would, but two weeks later told us they had only done a virtual meter reading.
We called again and specifically requested someone come in person.
Once again, they delayed it and later said they had done another virtual review instead.
We insisted someone physically inspect everything.
Finally, weeks later, a technician came out and found what I believe was a gas regulator that our apartment maintenance needed to repair.
Maintenance repaired it.
Afterward, we checked our account and our gas usage immediately dropped back to what it had always been. Our projected bill for next month is back to normal.
Here's where I'm completely confused...
Today Washington Gas told us:
The meter is accurate.
The regulator had nothing to do with the increase in usage.
They cannot explain why our gas usage spiked.
They can "escalate" the issue, but there's no timeline.
They won't provide anything in writing without a subpoena.
To make things even stranger...
Around April, our apartment complex performed what they called "preventative maintenance" on the utility closet on our balcony. We had always had access to this closet and stored a few things in there. While we were away, maintenance locked the closet. When we contacted the leasing office, they told us we were never supposed to have access to it and had to submit a maintenance request just to get our belongings back. Maintenance came while we weren't home, removed all of our belongings, and locked the closet again.
Not long after all of that happened is when we noticed our gas usage suddenly skyrocketing.
I'm not saying these things are related, because I genuinely don't know. I just think it's strange that maintenance accessed the utility closet. Our gas usage suddenly increased shortly afterward. Weeks later, a technician found a regulator that needed to be repaired. Immediately after that repair, our gas usage returned to normal.
Yet Washington Gas says the repair had nothing to do with the increased usage, while also admitting they have no explanation for why our usage spiked.
Has anyone ever experienced something like this? Did you ever get an explanation or have your bill adjusted?
If anyone works for a gas utility, HVAC company, plumbing company, or apartment maintenance, I'd really appreciate your insight because I'm genuinely trying to understand what happened. Right now I'm being told our usage is real, but no one can explain where all that gas supposedly went.